Game in which movement of peg causes board areas to change

ABSTRACT

A generally triangular shaped game board having three sets of lines disposed on the surface thereof with each set of lines radiating from different apices of an equilateral triangle and intersecting the other sets of lines at a plurality of points over the surface of the game board. Holes are provided at the intersection of the lines and a peg is provided for being positioned in any of the plurality of holes. Three strings are respectively connected between the peg and the three vertices of the triangle so that movement of a peg from one hole to another causes the three areas defined by the strings and the sides of the triangle to be changed simultaneously each time the peg is moved to a new location.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Kenneth Chew [56] References Cited[21] A No ggflzf UNITED STATES PATENTS [22] Q, 5 3,413,001 11/1968Ryanetal 273/1341) [45] Patented NW9 3,168,314 2/1965 Washbum...273/134c 3,370,854 2/1968 Washbum 273/1345 [54] GAME IN WHICH MOVEMENTOF PEG CAUSES BOARD AREAS TO CHANGE 1 Claim, 7 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl 273/134 AE, 273/134 AD, 273/134 G 51 1 1111. Cl A63t 9/00[50] Field ofSearch 273/131 D,

131 BB, 131 BA, 131 B, 131 R, I30F, 134RD, 134B, 134C, 134D, 134E,1341", l34FA, 134 G,I34GB Primary Examiner-Richard C. Pinkham AssistantExaminer-Marvin Siskind Attorney-Harvey G. Lowhurst ABSTRACT: Agenerally triangular shaped game board having three sets of linesdisposed on the surface thereof with each set of lines radiating fromdifferent apices of an equilateral triangle and intersecting the othersets of lines at a plurality of points over the surface of the gameboard. Holes are provided at the intersection of the lines and a peg isprovided for being positioned in any of the plurality of holes. Threestrings are respectively connected between the peg and the threevertices of the triangle so that movement of a peg from one hole toanother causes the three areas defined by the strings and the sides ofthe triangle to be changed simultaneously each time the peg is moved toa new location.

PATENTEDNnv 9 l9?! 3, 5 1 8 950 SHEET 1 [IF 2 Fig-2 INVENTOR.

KENNETH CHEW BY MWALML ATTORNEY PATENTEDN V 9 SHEET 2 OF 2 Fig I Lezfll" INVENTOR. KENNETH CHEW ATTORNEY BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Thepresent invention relates generally to entertainment apparatus of theparlor game type and, more particularly, to a novel game and game boardapparatus upon which the game is to be played.

Heretofore, most parlor games have involved the capture of an opponentsplayers such as in checkers or chess or the acquisition of title toproperty such as in Monopoly. But few games, if any, have actuallyinvolved the direct and physical takeover of property, that is, thesurface area of the game board; and to my knowledge no prior art gameshave involved a balance of power concept wherein the acquisition of theproperty of one opponent may simultaneously add to the property ofanother opponent, and wherein the choice of moves to be made involves aconsideration of the relative strength" of both opponents.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION It is therefore a primary object of the presentinvention to provide a novel game and associated apparatus wherein eachof a plurality of players is initially assigned equal areas of thesurface of a game board and each player plays independently against eachof the other two opponents in an attempt to obtain control of thesurface area of the game board initially possessed by his opponents.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel game boardapparatus having means for constantly delineating the territoriesbelonging to each player as they change throughout the course of thecontest.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide'a novel gameboard apparatus having a plurality of apertures placed in predeterminedpositions over the surface thereof and having lines drawn betweencertain ones of said apertures so as to indicate the possible moveswhich may be made by a moving player.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT'INVENTION In a preferred embodiment, the presentinvention includes a generally triangular-shaped game board having threesets of lines disposed on the surface thereof with each set of linesradiating from different apices of an equilateral triangle andintersecting the other sets of lines at a plurality of points over thesurface of the game board. Holes are provided at the intersection of thelines and a peg is provided for being positioned in any of the pluralityof holes. Three strings are respectively connected between the peg andthe three points of the triangle so that movement of a peg from one holeto another causes the three areas defined by the strings and the sidesof the triangle to be changed each time the peg is moved to a newlocation.

The apparatus also includes a plurality of plugs called agents" whichare assigned to each player and'which may be positioned in certain onesof the apertures of the players property. Also included are a unique setof eight-sided dice which are rolled in turn by each player and a set ofrules'which dictate the types of moves which may bemade by the playersin response to a roll of the dice.

IN THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the principal structuralfea tures of the upper surface of a game board in'accordance with thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the game board illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the manner in which the apertures andgame lines of the game board are developed.

FIG. 4 is a detailed diagram of the game pattern provided on the uppersurface of a game board in accordance with the present invention.

FIGS. 5 and 6 are respectively side and cross-sectional views of the diewhich is used in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an illustration of a plug means in accordance with the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The apparatus of thepresent invention is to be utilized in a fast-moving novel game ofchance and strategy played by three persons in the preferred embodiment.At the onset of the game, each player is assigned a territory exactlyequal to one-third of the area of an equilateral triangle and hisobjective is to enlarge his territory to such an extent that at leastone of the territories of his opponents disappears. This is accomplishedby his skill in manipulating certain plugs in a plurality of holesdisposed in predetermined locations over the game board and by his luckin rolling two unconventional and unique dice which have a particularset of numbers appearing on the faces. Upon the rolling of the two dice,a number may be obtained therefrom which allows the player to move a pegfrom hole to hole according to the mathematical principle of random walkto determine the extend of the players territory at any given stage ofthe game. The territory is determined by strings connected from thecomers of the triangle to the peg.

Certain rules are provided which dictate the manner in which the plugsand peg are to be positioned upon the face of the board in response to agiven roll of the dice. Since each player in the game is playing againstthe other two players, he is not only concerned with defeating anopponent, but must also maintain such assemblage of a balance of powerso as to prevent the other opponent from winning the game bycapitalizing on his moves.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawing, the overall structuralfeatures of a preferred embodiment of the present invention areillustrated. In this embodiment, the game board 10 is comprised of agenerally triangular shaped planar surface the pointsof which have beentrimmed as indicated to reduce the overall size of the board. Disposedin the middle of the game board 10 is a triangularly shaped playing area12 having a plurality of intersecting lines 14 and peg holes 16 thedisposition of which will be more fully described with relation to FIGS.3 and 4 of the drawing.

Three holes 18, 20 and 22 are provided at each of the apices of thetriangular playing area 12 through which lengths of cord 24, 26 and 28are respectively passed and their ends fastened to a peg 30. The otherends of the cords 24, 26 and 28 are attached to a rubber band 32 bymeans of three ring hooks 56 on the bottom'side of the board 10 asillustrated in FIG. 2 of the drawing so as to enable the peg 30 to bepositioned at any point over the surface of the area 12. The strings arethus kept taut so as to define straight lines between the peg 30 and theholes 18, 20-and 22 no matter where the peg is positioned over theplaying area. Alternatively, the remote ends of the cords 24, 26. and 28could be attached to any suitable contractibleexpansible mechanismunderneath the board which provides sufficient cord reserves to enablethe peg 30 to move freely over the playing area on top.

Since the game involves a series of alternative moves in accordance witha predetennined set of rules, tables of movements may be provided on thethree sides of the game board 10 at the positions, 36 and 38 asillustrated for the convenience of each player. These rules involve notonly the movement of the peg 30, but also the placement of agents" whichare comprised of plugs such as are illustrated in FIG. 7 of the drawingwhich are variously positioned in the holes of the game board at theoption of the players in response to the throwing of the dice. Theparticular rules included in the table are set forth in the table ofmovements set out below.

Turning now to FIGS. 3 and 4 of the drawing, the layout of thetriangularly shaped game area will be disclosed in detail. As shown inFIG. 3, the playingarea is constructed by starting with an equilateraltriangle 40 having apices coincident with openings 18, 20 and 22 andthen drawing three fanned arrays of lines 42 from each apex to theopposite side of the triangle. In accordance with the preferredembodiment, a family of 13 straight lines 42 are drawn radiating fromeach of the points 18, 20 and 22 spaced apart at approximately 7intervals about the respective apices. The points at which lines fromall three sets of lines cross, holes are drilled for accommodating thepeg 30 as well as the agent" plugs which will be positioned in some ofthe holes in accordance with the rules of the game.

In FIG. 4, the complete playing area is depicted, and it will be notedthat this area includes a plurality of small triangles of varying shapesand sizes defined by the lines radiating from the three apices such thata number of such small triangles will be included in the triangularsubareas formed by the lengths of cord 24, 26 and 28 shown in FIG. 1,and the sides 19, 21 and 23 of the large triangle. It will be noted thatsince all of the lines radiate from the points 18, 20 and 22 a wholenumber or none of the small triangles will appear in each of thetriangular subareas no matter which hole the peg 30 is positioned in. Itwill also be noted that the outer band of trapezoidal figures 42 definedby the two outer rows of holes are not divided into triangles forreasons which are to be explained below.

The game board pattern is divided into several zones which are variouslycolored so as to provide differentiation therebetween. The outermostband 44 might, for example, be colored purple while the band 46 might becolored red and the band 48 colored yellow. The innermost area 50 iscolored green in the preferred embodiment. The zones defined by thecolored areas determine into which of the various holes the plugs may bepositioned as will be more fully described below.

Referring now to FIGS. and 6 of the drawing, one of the octahedral diceused in playing the game is illustrated. The die 50 is made from alength of material having a regular octagonal cross section with itsends rounded off. On each of the eight faces of each die the numerals 0through 7 are imprinted so that upon being thrown, one of the eightnumbered faces will appear in the top position when the die comes torest. For ease of identification, the numerals shown on the faces of thedie may be provided in differing colors or, as an alternative, thenumbers may be done away with and merely different colors may beprovided. However, since the choice of game moves is determined by thenumerical summation of the numbers or other indicia obtained by rollingthe two dice, the type indicia used must correspond to the indiciautilized in the table of moves. Alternatively, any other suitable randomnumber determining means could be used in place of the octahedral dice.

The agents" used for purpose of plugging up some of the holes on theboard during the process of playing the game are illustrated in FIG. 7.These agents 52 are merely flat-headed plugs which are of a suitableshape and size to be easily placed in the holes and removed therefrom bythe players. The game typically consists of 27 agents of which three arecolored yellow for use in the yellow zone, nine are colored green foruse in the green zone, and are colored red for use in the red zone.Although the agents may be made of any type of material, it has beenfound preferable to construct them out of iron so that they may beeasily manipulated by a small magnet which may be provided to each ofthe players.

Turning now to the game itself and the method in which it is to beplayed, it should be pointed out that there are two types of movementswhich may be made in response to a single roll of the dice. The first isto move the peg 30 from one hole to another and the other is to move anagent from one hole to another. The movement of the peg 30 may befurther characterized as moving from one hole to an adjacent holeconnected by a straight line or as jumping over one or more agentsobstructing its path so defined by the straight lines on the board. As ageneral rule, a player must make the move indicated by the rolling ofthe octadice whenever it is possible to do so. Otherwise, no movement ismade. The moves and the alternative moves which may be made in responseto the various rolls of the octahedral dice are defined in the followingtable of movements.

TABLE OF MOVEMENTS DICE ROLL MOVES Advance four holes Jump over twoconsecutive agents in one hop or shift three agents Retreat one holeAdvance one hole or jump over one agent at most twice Advance two holesor jump over two consecutive agents in one hop Advance three holes orjump over three agents in two or three hops or jump over two consecutiveagents in one hop Shift three agents Advance two holes or jump over oneagent at most twice Advance one hole or shift three agents Advance twoholes or shift three agents Jump over one agent at most twice or shifithree agents Advance three holes Retreat one hole Jump over three agentsin two or three hops or jump over two consecutive agents in one hop orshift two agents Make a free move The choice of which of theinstructions appearing in the table of movements are to be followed isdetermined by the sum of the numbers appearing on the two dice when theyare rolled.

As mentioned above, a players territory at any given time is defined bythe subarea of the triangular playing area defined by the two stringsand the side of the triangular playing area on his side of the board.The movement advance one hole" means that the player is to move the pegto an adjacent vacant hole connected by straight lines in such a mannerthat the resultant number of holes in his new territory is notdecreased. On the other hand, the movement retreat one hole" means thatthe player is to move the peg to an adjacent hole connected by astraight line such that the resultant number of holes in his newterritory has not increased, i.e., has decreased or remained the same.

The instruction advance two holes" means that the movement advance thehole is effected twice and in each instance the resultant number ofholes in the players territory must not be decreased. Thus, thismovement involves exactly two difierent vacant holes which need not liealong a straight line passing through the original location of the peg.Similarly, the movements advance three holes" and "advance four holes"are made with exactly three and four different vacant holesrespectively.

In a multihole advance movement, if there are obstructive agents causingone or more one-hole movements to be a retreat movement, no move is tobe made. The instruction jump over one agent at most twice" means thatthe player can jump over one agent or he can jump over two agents one ata time. In order for him to be able to jump over one agent or he canjump over two agents one at a time. In order for him to be able to jumpover one agent, the peg must be positioned adjacent to the agent and thejumping must take place along the straight line connecting the peg andthe agent to the immediate vacant hole beyond the agent. In order tojump twice over two different agents, the peg and the two agents to bejumped over must be so situated that the peg jumps over the agents intwo consecutive hops. However, the agents need not be in a straight linewith the peg.

In order to comply with the jump over two consecutive agents in one hopinstruction the only requirement is that the peg and the two agents mustbe in three consecutive holes on the same straight line so that thejumping'takes place to the vacant hole immediately beyond the secondagent. Any jumping movement must be performed as indicated if it ispossible to do so, although it may be a retreating movement. To jumpover three agents in two or three hops, the peg and three differentagents must be so situated that the peg may be jumped over the agents intwo or three (but not one) consecutive hops. A single jump over threeconsecutive agents in a straight line, is not permitted in accordancewith this move.

The shift two agents" and shift three agents" movement mean that theindicated number of agents anywhere on the board, with the exception ofthose under the string at that given moment, are to be transferred fromthe holes in which they appear to any other vacant holes on the board inthe same color zone, except to those vacant holes under the string.Diftcrently colored agents may be shifted under these movements. Themovement shift two agents" may be interpreted as to mean the interchangeof two agents in the same color zone. Thus, amounting to no move at all.By the same interpretation, shift three agents" may, in effect, be ashift of one agent.

In the table of movements, there are nine composite alternativemovements indicated by the word or. An alternative movement may besatisfied by effecting any one (but only one) of the alternatives at theplayer's option. if it is possible to carry out only one of thealternatives, then that alternative must be made even though it is notadvantageous to the player. If it is impossible to effect any one of thestated alternatives, no move may be made.

The instruction make a free move" means that any one (and only one) ofthe movements described above may be made at the players option.

In playing the game, the peg 30 is initially set at the center hole ofthe board. Each one one of the three players then takes nine agents, oneyellow, three green and five red, and distributes them at will in thecorresponding color zones of his own territory. No agents are to beplaced in the holes under the string or in the holes in the purple zone.All 27 agents remain in their respective zones of the board throughoutthe play. The players then roll the octahedral dice to determine theorder in which their turns are to be taken and once the order isdetermined, each player makes two moves. The first move is accomplishedby rolling the two octahedral dice and obtaining a number whichidentifies the movement to be made according to the table of movements.Whenever it is possible to do so this indicated movement must be madeeven though it is against the interest of the player. The same playerthen rolls octahedral dice again to make a second move, completing histurn.

The objective of each player is to place the peg in a purple hole as farfrom his side of the board as possible according to his skill inmanipulating legal movements so that his territory contains the maximumnumber of holes. The game ends whenever the peg is placed in any of thepurple holes. The player to whom this purple hole belongs is the loserand receives no points. The other two players decide who the winner isaccording to their scores as determined below. The scores are determinedby counting the number of nonpurple holes which are contained within theresulting subareas after one of the players has been overpowered. Forconvenience, these numbers are printed on either side of the boundaryholes. These numbers represent all but the holes lying directly underthe string in each of the subareas. The purple holes or boundary holesare used for the sole purpose of ending the game and keeping score andare not counted as holes to be gained.

The score of each player at the end of the game is determined bysubtracting the number of agents within his territory from the numberassociated with the purple hole at which the game is ended. The playerwith a high score wins the game.

This method of keeping score indicates that the number of agents used ina players territory to win the game is counted against him. If a playersucceeds in putting the peg 30 in the most distant purple hole from hisside, he is the sole winner of points (127 holes-27 agents) and both ofhis opponents receive no points. When several games are played, scoresfrom each game are accumulated at the end to indicate the final winner.

Since each player is allowed to make two moves in each turn, a playeracting on the offensive should use his first move to set up the agent togive himself a chance to jump over them in the second move. Onceterritory is gained, he should avoid losing it by shifting the agents toblock the return path of the peg, if possible, even at the sacrifice ofa oneor two-hole advance movement. Usually three consecutive agents in aline are used for this purpose since the peg may not jump over such anarrangement. As the final point in the offense, a player shouldgenerally advance into the territory of the player who follows him inturn.

Defensive moves are an important aspect of this game also. Withoutadequate defense a more experienced player could win the game with twoor three turns. At the beginning of the game, a player should distributehis agents in such a manner that his opponents cannot readily jump overthem. To have an effective defense in the process of playing the game, aplayer should not only shift the agents to discourage an opponent fromreaching a purple hole in his own territory, but also place the peg inan unfavorable position to prevent the next player from winning the gameeven to the point of aiding his other opponent at the expense of makingretreating moves. Sometimes this may be done by placing the peg in ahole that is not adjacent to any agent so that jumping is impossible. Inthe process of playing the game, a player should attempt to set up adefense with a minimum number of agents in his own territory so as toobtain a higher score if he wins. For this reason, a player should keepin mind the number of potential agents in his territory as he plays.These are the finer points of the game in which proficiency may begained with a little experience.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to apreferred embodiment for accommodating three players, it is to beunderstood that the invention could likewise be adapted to accommodateany number of players by modifying the game board layout. Moreover,after having read the above disclosure, it is contemplated that manyalternations and modifications of the invention will become apparent tothose skilled in the art. It is therefore to be understood that thisdescription of a preferred embodiment is for purposes of illustrationonly and is in no manner intended to be limiting. Accordingly, I intendthat the appended claims be interpreted as covering all modificationswhich fall within the true spirit and scope of my invention.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for playing a game of skill and chance comprising:

a game board having a playing surface;

a plurality of openings provided in said playing surface;

peg means for insertion into one of the openings at a time;

defining means for variably defining at least three areas on saidplaying surface, one area being possessed by each player:

said defining means including, extensible, continuous barrier meansextending from at least three points equally spaced around the peripheryof said playing surface and intersecting at and connected to said pegmeans; and

said peg means and said barrier means cooperating in such a manner as toenable every movement of said peg means into one of said openings toredefine the areas of said playing surface possessed by each player.

1. Apparatus for playing a game of skill and chance comprising: a gameboard having a playing surface; a plurality of openings provided in saidplaying surface; peg means for insertion into one of the openings at atime; defining means for variably defining at least three areas on saidplaying surface, one area being possessed by each player: said definingmeans including, extensible, continuous barrier means extending from atleast three points equally spaced around the periphery of said playingsurface and intersecting at and connected to said peg means; and saidpeg means and said barrier means cooperating in such a manner as toenable every movement of said peg means into one of said openings toredefine the areas of said playing surface possessed by each player.